Fallen Petals ,Broken Stems
~ Chapter Three~
Letter's Telling Of A Second Coming And Acceptance
By Inuyashas Youkai
' I am tired of being all alone and this solitary moment makes me want to come back home '
The colors of the coming seasons quickly passed in a blur ever since Kagome fully accepted and grew into her adopted identity: Blaze. Almost a year since she had agreed to join Sesshomeru and merge with their family's sword Sounga. During that time the Youkai lord had worked to train her with the accursed weapon, and to gain strength with hand to hand combat . Additionally ,in result achieving self control to use the added concentration within her new resolve to channel the spirits within her bow in order to retain control of herself,instead of the at the same time Kagome ,herself trained her own miko energy that now soared through her upon command but at the time still became hard to control when it released.
The time soon came where Sesshomeru moved towards perfecting Blaze's movements within stealth operations that was needed and often came up through menial tasks to further prepare her for whatever may soon come. At this point six months had passed and it was due to some responsibility felt towards her pack to at least inform them she wasn't dead but alive, thriving in the Feudal Era. So with Sesshomeru's assistance a official , cryptic note was presented with the proper seal of the clan she now belonged ,claimed allegience to ,and one she shared with both demon brothers,however to some unknown for now. Blaze's success of said delivery without dectection would only serve to how much she grew with the Inu Youkai elder's supreme tutalage and would say where she was at with picking up with what up until this pointy she had retained.
Proceeding the planned excursion Sesshomeru had gifted her with the completed scroll ,and followed her a ways behind simply to observe Blaze's movements. That same day the brief note was sealed and delivered to her for a time ,forgotten pack deep into the night ,slyly without detection from no one in their peaceful slumber. All the while , Sesshomeru hid within the shadows aways from being picked up by any of the stronger senses inhabited by fellow demons, mainly the kit ,two tail ,and that of his brother ,seeing that he hadn't bore anything to sheild his coming appearance. In his eyes their was no need because if everything went as percieved to occur their arrival would continue to stay unannounced until said time where they were no longer in the area.
Soon arriving at Kaede's village ,like a silent wind ,as fluid as the quiet bubbling nearby stream , Kagome had penetrated past the nose of a resting hanyou in his familar spot within a tree. Passing the four remaining occupants Sango inside her spare sleeping bag, Miroku leaning up against the outside wall of the hut, and Kirara snuggled up to a slumbering Shippo ,within a flash crossing the dying flames of their warming pyre. Finally coming to the exact spot where she intended her written words to be placed , it was within a crack of the doorway where the bamboo screened flap was held and served as a door. With carefully executed poetic stances Kagome quickly looked to see of her silent prey as to assure herself of their retained oblivious silence before she briskly shoved the scroll into it's holding spot until it could be found ,and followed with her faded disappearance within the darkness of the night.
~ The Scroll Hearby States~
Don't fear for I am not dead ..I am still alive ,thriving once again in the Feudal Era, but something within me changed after the last time I was present with you ,and it became dangerous for me to stay . We will meet again soon when the call for it presents itself . Forgive me for leaving but it something I had to do for myself ,as well as for our mission to complete and purify the jewel, removing it out of existence. Everything will be known in time , though for now please don't look for me for the saftey of all of you I don't want to be found until time feels I am ready to face all of you ,as I am now , and for you to survive to see it. I need to ensure what I came here to do is complete ..However I will make my presence known when my soul tells me I should once again be found ...I appologize for the truth being harsh with my words but you'll have to learn to understand and trust me ..For now your not safe with me around anymore, although I assure you I will do what I was brought here to do ,for all of you, and for all of our happiness.
Kagome
~ The Darkness Within A Forsaken Path Enlightened~
At Dawn , the five occupants peacefully slept as the sun slowly started to rise and graze it's oncoming haze upon the faded outlines framing their darkened forms within the night, as the flaming embodiment took it 's place among the masses. The demon slayer , Sango was the first to wake with the realm of sleep still showing proof of it's existence through the crusty film of her eyes that she lazily rubbed away. Slowly escaping the warmth with the cocoon of night's past to begin her normal routine ,Sango proceeded to gather the items to train before she headed for the hotsprings with a soak in mind to start the day.
It was on her way , after estinguishing the smoldering flames, and looking over camp wistfully that her eyes caught something out of place. Deeply embedded in the doorway ,and held tight with a piercing arrow ,holding a familar but slightly different aura, was a scroll made of fine rice paper and secured with a black leather chord. Removing the scroll from it's holding spot ,then opening the ties that bound the simple message ,Sango began to shake with conflicting emotions,while her fingers creased the fragily contained words written between her fingertips..
"Miroku! Miroku!" Sango' strained voice choked with the oncoming threat of her tears
"Sango?" Shippo hesitantly asked with the percieved reluctance of wanting to know the unknown truth of the obvious situation, and with being torn from sleep abruptly rubbed the sleep from his eyes, frustratedly knowing he wouldn't be able to resume his precious nap.
"What is it dear Sango?" Miroku stood coming to close the distance to the emotion plight of his growing infatuation, once he saw the teary look in her eyes looking at the scroll in her shaking hands.
"Miroku, Look!"
Once the monk looked the beautifully scripted Kanji ,overlooking the forgotten seal laying buried within the soil of the ground in which they now stood, Miroku felt his mouth drop ,and his eyes prick with unshed tears. The salt billowed in with the breeze toward that of a powerful nose of a said hanyou, alerting to something very wrong occuring within the village ,so without pause Inuyasha, leapt from his perch . The hanyou then rushed forward towards where he smelt the coming tears , in hopes it was of the young miko Kagome, one that he missed ,but once he closed into the spot from where the salt came.
Inuyasha suddenly knew it wasn't because he remembered the well no longer working for him ,and he forsaw that on the other side his miko was sealed behind it, but to his shock soon overcame him ,for it came surprisingly from the once guarded slayer. Once he came toward the hut finding his pack ,confirming his theory with them all in near tears ,and gracing faint smiles held on their faces.
" Oi!What the hell is up with all of you guys?" the hanyou uncomfortably mused aloud
Sango and Miroku's stature immediatly stiffened ,unsure what the hanyou's reaction would be with the new found knowledge, and not prepared for his unannounced arrival. Especially with the current situation with Kikyo ,but in the end thought maybe Inuyasha deserved to know that Kagome was still alive , at least. So the monk proceeded , taking the opened scroll from Sango ,and led the hanyou away to have a male discussion with his tempermental friend, with the slayer nearby in case he showed unwanted reactions to the news.
"We got word rergarding Kagome!" Miroku excitedly cheered
"What ? How? When?" Inuyasha franticlly questioned
"Sango found this ..." Miroku sighed then handed over the message to the hanyou
The hanyou nervously scanned the words written by as it seemed to be from his miko herself:
Don't fear for I am not dead ..I am still alive ,thriving once again in the Feudal Era, but something within me changed after the last time I was present with you ,and it became dangerous for me to stay . We will meet again soon when the call for it presents itself . Forgive me for leaving but it something I had to do for myself ,as well as for our mission to complete and purify the jewel, removing it out of existence. Everything will be known in time , though for now please don't look for me for the saftey of all of you I don't want to be found until time feels I am ready to face all of you ,as I am now , and for you to survive to see it. I need to ensure what I came here to do is complete ..However I will make my presence known when my soul tells me I should once again be found ...I apppologize for the truth being harsh with my words but you'll have to learn to understand and trust me ..For now your not safe with me around anymore, although I assure you I will do what I was brought here to do ,for all of you, and for all of our happiness.
Kagome
" Kagome... What have I done?"
Before any more could be discussed on the topic ,Naraku's foul scent filtered into the area with the rolling clouds coming in with the harshly animated breeze. The skies once again consuming the once serene atmosphere with dread as it always had when Naraku's presence tained it's purity with his poisonous deadly aura. Swords were clashing in the background about from what the hanyou's senses told them about a hundred meters West from where they now stood.
TBC...
